DA investigating arrest video
Aggressive cop restraint under review
By O’Ryan Johnson | Friday, October 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
The Suffolk district attorney and the Boston Police Department agreed yesterday to assign a prosecutor to probe possible “criminal conduct” by police following an arrest posted on YouTube where cops appear to repeatedly punch a 16-year-old.
“It’s important for everyone involved that there be independent eyes reviewing what occurred here,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. He said police Commissioner Edward Davis has already launched an internal investigation.
The 16-year-old caught on tape while being arrested at Roxbury Community College on Oct. 22 was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and was held on $500 cash bail. His bail was also revoked on an open case for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and trespassing. He was wanted on a warrant for escaping a Department of Youth Services lockup.
The officers are at work and have not been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
If the police department does not quickly provide answers, the video — which had been viewed more than 17,000 times as of last night — could undermine efforts at combating youth violence, community leaders warned.
“Davis is doing exactly the right thing to make sure they’re seeing all the video and getting all the witness statements,” said Emmet Folgert, director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative.
The Rev. Shaun O. Harrison, pastor of Charles Street A.M.E. Church, and a member of Dorchester’s Four Corners Association, said while the arrest looks bad on tape, he wants to wait until the investigation is complete before he passes judgment. He said as someone who worked with troubled teens in a Department of Youth Services facility for five years and has participated in restraints, he knows they are often ugly to witness.
“It’s not a pretty scene,” he said. “Sometimes it takes four to six staff to put them down because they’re very violent. You have got to hold them down until they calm down. I’ve gotten thrown through walls. I got slammed into a locker. It wasn’t pretty.”
The hot-button incident sparked a war of words between City Council President Michael Ross and Boston Police Patrolmen Association president Thomas Nee.
Ross, who said he trusts that a review of the case will be independent and thorough, did not back away from a statement he issued on his Web site Wednesday night about his outrage over the use of force on an unarmed 16-year-old.
“I don’t think this represents who we are as a city. It’s offensive to see. It’s offensive for our citizens and it’s not the way our police should be performing,” Ross said.
“Nothing was out of line and nothing was excessive,” responded Nee, who said the suspect assaulted a cop, then locked his fingers under his body and was refusing to allow police to cuff him. “Use of force is not pretty and officers were utilizing techniques for noncompliance that they train for in the academy. They will be exonerated after an investigation.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1292330
